1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a support arm for movably connecting a movable first body to a second body which is substantially stationary with respect to the first body. More particularly, the present invention relates to such a support arm which includes a pivotable connector bar disposed in a substantially hollow sheath.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In industry today, many types of machines and equipment are becoming computerized and require operator input to guide the computer in performing various tasks. An input/output terminal is therefore often required for use with modern industrial machinery. However, since different shops or plants are set up in different fashion, it is not desirable to fixedly mount or attach an input/output terminal to an industrial machine. A machine operator may also be located at different parts of a given machine to perform different jobs with the same machine at different times. It is more advantageous to mount an input/output terminal to a machine in such a fashion that the terminal may be moved up and down and pivoted to an optimal orientation towards a machine user. In addition, it is desirable to be able to temporarily lock the terminal into a fixed relationship with the machine once an optimal orientation had been obtained.
More broadly speaking, there often is a need to attach a movable first body to a second body which is substantially stationary with respect to the first body, and it is often desirable to lock the means of attachment into a fixed orientation once an optimal arrangement is set up.
Movable support arms, per se, are not new. Such arms have been use for many applications such as, e.g., lamps, drafting equipment, and the like. However, none of the prior art support arms have provided the novel features of the present invention as set out hereinbelow.